Introduction

Family Court Judge Burns noted in a paper in 20021 that when he was at law school he was told that the definition of a marriage was “a union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others, for life”.

He went on to suggest that a more appropriate definition of marriage today is a “union of two persons, possibly of opposite gender, usually to the exclusion of all others but not always, for as long as it lasts”.

Times have changed and more and more people wish to enter into marriage agreements contracting out of all or some of the equal sharing provisions of the Property (Relationships) Act 1976 (the Act). Socio-economic changes mean that more people will marry for a second time, women are returning to the workforce after having children, women are in higher paid jobs and the extension of the Act now includes de facto couples. There is no longer a traditional norm. A “one size fits all” regime is not appropriate. As such, the contracting out provisions of the Act have become more relevant for more people.

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